The Truth
by NephilimEQ
Summary: Nathan knows something that no one else knows, and he *has* to tell someone... SPOILERS AHEAD FOR MOST RECENT EPISODE! Please READ & REVIEW! Love you! More chapters pending...
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

* * *

Nathan could barely believe what Audrey had told him. Sarah had had a child, and not just any child. The Colorado Kid. The Colorado Kid was her son.

The news simultaneously took a load off and put another one at the same time. His first thought was relief, knowing that the love that she felt for James Cogan was one of a mother for her son, and not of the other kind, but then his second thought kicked in.

Was it possible?

He'd just come back from being with Sarah in 1955…and he'd done something that he thought wouldn't matter in the huge scheme of things.

However, it appeared as though his one act had caused everything else to spiral to where they were now.

James Cogan, the Colorado Kid…was his son.

He knew that if he could feel, he would have felt his body temperature plummet and felt the hairs rise up on the backs of his arms and along his neck. The repercussions of his actions were almost unbelievable. And he knew that he had to tell someone…but not Audrey.

He knew who he had to tell.

Several hours later, at the Grey Gull, he cornered Duke in a back area of the restaurant, where no customers would accidentally overhear their conversation.

He didn't say a word, and merely grabbed the other man's arm and dragged him near one of the empty tables, leveling his own blue eyes at Duke's hazel ones. Duke protested as he was dragged, one hand up in arbitrary complaint.

"Hey, whatever it is, I swear I have a license for it, or I paid the fines for it, or whatever, alright?"

Nathan gave Duke a serious stare and he saw the man's expression change.

"Wait a minute…you only give me that look when something's up. I know that look; I've seen you with that look before and nothing good ever happens when you give me that look. What's up?"

The chief let out a long sigh, slightly upset that he had no one else that he could tell, but forged ahead anyway.

"You know that the Colorado Kid is actually Audrey's son, right? Or, Sarah's son?" Duke nodded, and opened his mouth to say something, but Nathan cut him off. "I know something that no one else knows about James Cogan; not even Vince and Dave know, and it needs to stay that way."

He gave him an enigmatic stare, and Duke simply nodded.

Nathan lessened his grip slightly on the man's collar and then said, "I know who the father is."

At that, Duke's gaze turned sharp and accusing.

"You know? How the hell do you know that? We only _just_ found out that the Colorado Kid is her _son_, so how do you know who the _father_ is?"

Nathan gave him a look and then completely let go of Duke's collar and leaned back slightly on his heels and then broke the uncomfortable stare between them.

"We…when we were back in, in 1955, I…well, I spent some time with Sarah."

That was all Duke needed to hear, and his gaze turned judgmental in a second, and he spoke up before the chief could get in another word.

"You slept with her?" His tone was a low, harsh, accusing whisper. "You…you…I can't believe you! And after telling _me_ not to mess with the, the time-space continuum thingy! Audrey is going to kill you, you know that, right?"

Nathan's blue eyes then turned as sharp as Duke's.

"You're not going to breathe a word of this to her, do you understand?" Duke was about to protest, but Nathan cut him off sharply. "No. I don't want to hear your reasons for telling her. She is _not_ going to know about this, understood? Cause if she _some_how, accidentally, finds out that I'm the father, you can kiss the Grey Gull goodbye, because I will _bury_ you underneath the law and use everything I have against you. Forget about the clean sheet that Parker gave you, I still have the originals. Audrey _doesn't_ find out. Got it?"

Duke could see the fire burning in the man's eyes and realized that Nathan would probably most likely kill him if he breathed a word of it to anyone.

He nodded.

"Loud and clear, Nathan. Loud and clear…"

And with that, Nathan turned and walked out of the Gull, leaving Duke even more confused and paranoid than he normally was.

He shook his head at the chief's back and let out a soft sigh of disappointment.

"Just tell her, Nathan…just tell her," he whispered under his breath as he walked over to the bar, not noticing the outline of a familiar psychiatrist lingering on the porch just beyond where he and Nathan had had their whispered conversation.

* * *

**Part 1/?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

* * *

Audrey was tired, exhausted even, after having to fix the past. It had been strange seeing the old Chief again. Alive. The entire time all she'd been able to think was, _Nathan deserves to see his father again, he deserves to be here._

But everything was back to normal, and that was the important part.

As she pulled off her clothes, she left them on the floor where they fell, unable to get up enough energy to put them in her clothes hamper.

As soon as her head hit the pillow, she was out.

Soon, Audrey was dreaming…and she was Sarah. She was on the beach that was all too familiar to her after being near it for a little over two years. She was sitting down on a blanket and someone was sitting next to her.

She turned her head slightly, noticing out of the corner of her eye that her hair was red, and was surprised to see herself locking eyes with her partner.

What was Nathan doing here?

In the back of her mind, she tried to voice the question, but it seemed she wasn't doing anything in her control, as instead she felt herself smiling at the soft look that was on her partner's face, one that she had only seen a handful of times before.

She felt her body lean in slightly, their lips millimeters apart, but he pulled away, saying, "I'm sorry. I should go." He was now up on his feet and walking away from her and she felt her heart fall. Why was he leaving her?

She then heard words falling from her lips, her voice slightly different than she remembered…was that a southern accent?

"Why do I always go for the shy ones?"

He paused from walking away, and then turned and fell to his knees and pulled her in for a kiss.

And she was drowning.

They were kissing, and he'd started it, and she didn't want it to end. But she wasn't in control of Sarah's body. After a few long, drawn out, sensuous, wet kisses, she felt him laying her back and her arms sliding around his neck, pulling him down over her.

Soon, her dress was moved slightly up her legs and he was pressing against her and he whispered against her lips,

"You're always the same…how is it you're always the same?"

She felt her body look up at him and then said, "What do you mean?", but he simply shook his head and they continued to do something that she was very familiar with.

And then she snapped awake.

Audrey felt her heart in her chest racing madly, and she could barely believe what she had just dreamed…but then she remembered. It was possible that it wasn't a dream...because Duke and Nathan had actually gone back to 1955.

Was it Sarah's memory? Was it possible?

Unable to fall back asleep, even though it was three in the morning, she threw on a thick robe and walked into the kitchen, making herself a cup of herbal tea, something to help her fall back asleep, but it didn't seem to be helping. Her mind was racing…and she knew who she needed to talk to.

Several minutes later, Claire was walking through her door, looking slightly disheveled, most likely because Audrey had woken her up at an ungodly hour.

Claire sat down on the small couch, but the female detective began to pace in front of her, nervously wringing her hands.

Finally, Claire said, "Audrey, you said it was urgent. What's going on?"

She stopped pacing and looked straight at Claire, her eyes boring into her, and she finally found the strength to speak.

"I…I had a dream," she said, her trembling voice betraying her true feelings. "I was Sarah…and Nathan was there. We were on a beach and we were talking. Well," she amended. "We were, uh, kissing, and, uh, something more…"

She let the sentence linger and gave Claire a pointed look, and the brunette nodded, silently encouraging her to continue.

"I think…I think it's a memory."

At this, Claire only seemed slightly surprised, but then motioned to the couch cushion next to her, asking her to join her, so she did. They sat there for a moment, and then Audrey spoke up again, explaining what she hadn't yet told Claire.

"I just found out that the Colorado Kid, James Cogan, is my son…well, Sarah's son; and now that I know that Nathan got stuck in 1955 and that he told me that he met her…I think that the dream was a memory. And that, that he's the father."

At this, Claire reached out and gently grasped Audrey's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"Audrey…are you going to tell Nathan?"

There was a long pause, and then Audrey slowly shook her head.

"No. If my dream really _was_ just a dream, then it'll be embarrassing not only for me, but for him as well, and we have enough awkwardness as it is." She paused, and then gave Claire one of her determined looks. "And, on the off chance that it _is_ true, then the both of us already know. He won't know that I know and he won't have to feel obligated to tell me anything."

She looked for any sign of approval in the psychiatrist's eyes and was surprised to see Claire nod.

"I think you're right." She paused, took a deep breath, and then said, "Your reasoning is sound, and things between the two of you are very tenuous, at best. You _should_ keep this to yourself, but…I'm glad you decided to confide in me."

At this, Claire gave her a soft smile, and Audrey inwardly sighed in relief.

It felt good to get it out, to not have the idea festering in her mind like a splinter that she couldn't remove.

She let out a long sigh and a small laugh as she came to a sudden realization.

"You know, now that I think about it, I feel like an idiot for not seeing it before. In my memory, in one of the ones I got on Halloween, I saw him in the mirror…and I can see now that he looks so much like Nathan. Tall, broad shoulders, dark hair, intense eyes…he even had his eyes."

At this, Claire seemed slightly surprised, and pulled her hands back, but then relaxed again.

"Well…are you planning on telling anyone else?"

At that, Audrey laughed out loud.

"Like who, Duke? No way, having just one other person know is enough. Besides," she said, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "You're bound by doctor-patient confidentiality, right? You're the only person that I can _guarantee_ won't tell anyone."

She paused and tilted her head in that certain way of hers and gave Claire a small smile.

"Thank you for coming, Claire."

"Sure," she said as she stood. "I'll just show myself out."

With that she left, but Audrey felt an uneasy feeling settle in her stomach. She tried to brush it aside, but a thought kept on persisting in her mind. _Claire knows something else, something that she's not telling me…she _knows_ something._

Brushing it aside, she slid her robe off and slipped back under the covers, falling back to sleep in minutes.

* * *

**Part 2/?**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

* * *

Audrey walked into work, feeling surprisingly refreshed for having only gotten a few scant hours of sleep the night before. And even though she had a slight load on her mind because of what she might have discovered regarding the father of the Colorado Kid, she also felt lightened.

She walked into the precinct to see Nathan holding his coffee in front of him, looking adorable as he blew over the coffee and dipped a finger into it, looking a little like a lost puppy.

She withheld the ridiculous smile that wanted to surface and walked over and swiped the mug from his hands and took a tentative sip.

"It's fine, Nathan," she said, unable to keep a small grin from escaping.

He gave her a relieved smile.

"That's good to know. Hate to have burns I didn't know about." He returned her smile with a full-fledged grin and she was suddenly reminded of the dream, or memory, that she'd had just the night before, and was easily able to understand how she'd fallen for him as Sarah.

Audrey's gaze turned towards the floor slightly, but she brought her eyes back up as they walked the rest of the way to his office. However, they were suddenly stopped by an older woman who placed her hand on Nathan's arm.

"Nathan."

His look was one of surprise.

"Fanchon? What are _you_ doing here?"

The older woman, named Fanchon, was a woman that Audrey could tell had probably been a heartbreaker in her youth. She had aged gracefully, with full dark, brown hair with only the faint coloring of gray along the temples, along with soft hazel eyes, which had laugh lines around them.

She gave Nathan a broad smile and reached up and gave him a hug, which he returned with a look of surprise on his face.

They pulled back, and he asked, "What are you doing down here? Shouldn't you be at the studio?"

At this, Fanchon shrugged and simply grinned.

"Not today." She lifted her hand and both officers saw that they were filled with fliers. "Have to put up the signs around town, of course. The ball's back on this year!"

At this, what seemed to be to Audrey, obtuse announcement, her partner grinned an obviously excited grin and let out a small laugh of incredulity. He leaned down and gave the older woman another hug, almost over enthusiastic in his exuberance.

"That's great! It's been too long."

The brunette woman shrugged.

"Yeah, well, I decided that the town needed some cheering up."

Audrey was slightly disconcerted at the easy camaraderie that she could see between the two of them, as well as confused, and Nathan quickly picked up on her confusion and explained what the two of them were talking about.

"Sorry," he said, giving his blonde-haired partner a look of contrition. "Audrey, this is Fanchon de Lancie, Fanchon, this is my partner, Audrey Parker," he said, introducing the two of them. Audrey reached forward and shook the woman's hand, giving her a cordial smile, and then Nathan continued. "For the past couple of years Fanchon has been gone, up in Canada, but before she was gone we used to have a dance each year called the Haven Winter Ball." He flashed Audrey a quick smile. "She's an expert in ballroom dancing, hence the reason why she hosts it."

At that, Audrey nodded.

"It sounds…nice. Very, uh, well…" Her voice faded and she sent a desperate look towards Nathan, trying to find a good word.

"Small-townish?" he supplied and she shrugged, half-heartedly agreeing with his choice of words.

"Not exactly the phrase I was looking for, but yeah…but in a good way, I promise."

Fanchon just let out a small laugh. "I'm sure it was a compliment, but it's okay, darling, I'm just here to check up on our boy here, to make sure he doesn't try and weasel out of it like he did the last time we had the ball."

She gave Nathan a pointed look, and Nathan gave her a wide-eyed look of innocence.

"I swear, Fanchon, that I did _not_ do that on purpose. It was a big case, and it had to be closed…you know I wouldn't desert you on purpose."

He gave her one of his winning smiles, and the older woman grinned.

"So long as you're there this year…Mr. Reynolds won last year, and he's nowhere _near_ as experienced as you are, and I miss seeing you on the floor, sweetheart. You and your prospective partner, of course," she added, giving a coy wink at Audrey.

Audrey flushed slightly and ducked her head for a moment while Nathan tried to cut off Fanchon's words before she revealed too much.

"I'll see if I can make it," he said, keeping his answer vague so that he had some wiggle room for when it got closer to the ball to change his answer, but then he saw Audrey's eyes light up in curiosity at Fanchon's previous words.

"Wait…Nathan can _dance_?" She gave her partner a look of doubt and then looked back at Fanchon. "Are you sure we're talking about the same Nathan, here?"

The older woman nodded, her grin stretching wide as she outed her best student.

"Nathan Wournos is only the best ballroom dancer I've taught in these many, many years of being a dance instructor." She continued to grin; obviously thrilled at getting the chance to tell his partner and friend one of his most closely guarded secrets. "He's won the dancing competition every single year that he's been in it."

She reached over and rubbed his shoulder while he slid his hands into his pockets and ducked his head in shame.

Audrey couldn't withhold the grin.

"Nathan? Ballroom dancing? Wow…now _this_ I have to see." She gave her partner a teasing look. "This is almost as bad as the decoupage."

He gave her a pointed glare, one that held no weight behind it.

"You will not breathe _one word_ about this to Duke, do you understand? He always leaves for a big trip for the whole month of December and he's never known about…" He waved an absent hand in the air, and finished with, "You will _not_ tell him. I'm not giving him anymore ammunition against me," he finished, the last sentence more to himself than to Audrey.

She gave him an odd look and just shrugged.

"Wasn't planning on telling him…just hoping to get some pictures," she finished, a sly grin on her face, and her grin grew even wider when she heard him groan.

"Well, sweetheart," Fanchon said, placing a hand on Nathan's shoulder once more, "I've got to get over to the Herald to make sure Vince and Dave run an ad for the ball for the next three weeks. See you!"

She gave the both of them a small wave and walked out of the precinct, leaving the two of them to give each other a look, Audrey's one of humorous delight, Nathan's one of deep embarrassment tinged with a faint hint of humor. They turned to head towards his office once more, but were stopped by another voice.

"Audrey, Nathan…"

They both turned to see Claire walking into the building, her typical cup of coffee in her hand.

"Hey, Claire," said Audrey, giving Nathan a look from the corner of her eye, remembering her conversation with the woman only hours before. "What are you doing here?"

She gave them both a look and was slightly surprised to see that neither of them were acting weird around the other, so she decided to be circumspect in her words.

"Just checking up on my two favorite study cases."

She carefully observed their body language and was pleased to see that it was positive. Both of them were slightly facing the other, their shoulders were nearly touching, and she could sense a feeling of…companionship about the two of them. This was good news.

Nathan shrugged Claire's presence off as being non-important and walked to his office, but Audrey lingered, not quite trusting Claire's reason for being there, especially after their conversation earlier that morning.

Audrey gave the psychiatrist a pointed look, to which she responded with a pointed look of her own, causing Audrey to shrug and leave Claire to her own devices.

The brunette watched the two of them and carefully analyzed what she knew so far.

Apparently, when Nathan and Duke had gone back to 1955 they had met Sarah…and Nathan had fallen for her as hard as he'd fallen for Audrey. Honestly, that wasn't the least bit surprising to Claire…but what _was_ surprising was the fact that he'd taken it so far.

She had no doubt in her mind. Audrey had not simply had a dream; she'd remembered what had happened.

Nathan really _was_ the father of the Colorado Kid.

But who was going to give in first and admit that they knew? _That_ was the question that was burning in the young psychiatrist's mind. Who would give in first…

They were both equally stubborn and, she groaned inwardly at the despairing thought, they could both hold out on their information for forever. They would have the same reasoning behind it, as well: Why rock the boat? If it isn't broke, don't fix it; and so on, and so forth. It would be an endless cycle of rationalizations…unless she did something about it.

However, that last thought gave her some pause.

She didn't want to ruin what they had, and she could _technically_ be betraying patient-doctor confidentiality if she mentioned anything to do with her conversation with Audrey.

How far was too far?

Deciding to simply watch them for the time being and come up with a strategy plan later, she popped her head into the office that they shared.

"Mind if I tag along?" she asked, motioning with the coffee cup in her hand. "I don't have any appointments today, and I could always help you guys out. I'm not a slacker, you know…" She let it linger for a moment, watching as they both looked at her with identical expressions and then looked at each other.

It was amusing to watch their silent conversation.

Audrey's eyes went up. _Seriously? Does she _have _to come along?_ Nathan gave her a shrug. _Couldn't hurt._ Audrey glared and tapped her finger on the gun at her waist. _It's your fault then if I end up shooting her._ A faint grin at the corner of his lips. _Point taken._

The both of them stood at once.

"Sure, glad to have you," said Nathan, while Audrey then warned, "So long as you keep your distance if anything dangerous starts to happen. Deal?"

Claire nodded, pleased to have gotten under both of their' skins.

"Deal."

She followed them out of the precinct, noting how their strides were practically in unison as they walked down the front steps to Nathan's truck. She smiled to herself and took a sip from the coffee mug in her hand.

Oh, yeah…this was going to be an interesting day.

* * *

**Part 3/?**

**A.N. - So...this was only going to be a one-shot, but then someone mentioned doing it from Audrey's perspective, so I did that. And that was going to be the *END* of it. But then I got reviews on that chapter saying I needed to add more...and now this story is most likely going to be around 10 CHAPTERS! Aaaaarrrghhh! But at the same time, THANK YOU! My first Haven fan fiction and people are enjoying, so keep reviewing if you want more!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

* * *

"So what's today's case?" Audrey asked, taking a sip of her coffee.

Nathan gave her a glance from the corner of his eye as he drove, briefly noting in his mind that that was most likely her third cup of coffee, and tried not to grin as he answered her.

"A few people down at Rosemary's came down with debilitating stomach cramps, and they've already checked the food. The health inspector was here and, as far as the health inspector can tell, it isn't food poisoning or any kind of bio-toxin either…so…"

He let it dangle, and she immediately picked it up.

"Trouble. Got it."

He nodded and they pulled into the small parking lot next to the favorite small-town bakery.

Claire watched the two of them for a moment as they all got out of Nathan's truck, curious at their interactions, but then both of them turned to look at her, as though feeling her gaze on them, and she quickly averted her eyes, focusing instead on the bakery in front of them, but letting the two agents take the lead.

Audrey walked in, her eyes alert and scanning the room, reading the body language of the few people that were still inside.

From the back, Rosemary herself walked through and Claire watched as the woman sighed in relief at seeing the chief of police in her establishment.

"Oh, thank God...you're here."

Nathan gave her a nod, and then began to ask questions.

"Rosemary, when did you notice people were sick?"

The older woman shook her head. "I, I don't know. I'm not entirely sure when it started; I was in the back, keeping an eye on some cream filed croissants that are a part of a new recipe I'm making. You should talk to Karen, she would know. She works the front."

At this name, Nathan looked up at her in surprise from the notebook that he'd been writing notes in, his hand stopping on the page.

"Karen? As in, Karen Rayne?" Rosemary nodded, and Nathan let out a short bark of laughter and then put his notepad away, leaving both Claire and Audrey looking confused, but he simply said to them, "It's okay…I know what the problem is."

At that cryptic statement, the female detective and psychiatrist shared a look of confusion, but followed the chief anyway as he walked over to a corner table where a young woman about their age sat all alone, her hands fisted in her lap.

She had dark brown hair, hazel eyes, and was pleasing to look at, but she wouldn't have won any beauty contests. She was wearing a green sweater, blue jeans, and an apron that said "Rosemary's" on the front of it.

Nathan dropped to his knees and gently grasped her hands, causing her to look up.

There was a long moment of silence, until…

"Nathan? Is that you?"

He nodded and gently helped her into a standing position, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, and then helped her outside where he had her sit on a bench. He sat down next to her and gave her one of his looks, and she crumbled.

"Okay, okay…so it was me," she admitted, a few tears escaping a corner of her eye. "I didn't _mean_ to, Nathan, I swear it!"

He just nodded and rubbed her shoulder reassuringly with one hand.

"It's okay," he said in a soothing voice. "I know you didn't. Just…well, I thought that I'd give you a moment to collect yourself before I take you down to the station."

At hearing that, Karen's eyes snapped up in surprise. Her hazel eyes caught his and a faint look crossed her face, her mouth twisting slightly in a moue of confusion at his words. Claire and Audrey stood to the side, still waiting for him to introduce them, but he didn't.

Finally, the young woman's eyes lit up in comprehension.

"You're the chief of police?"

He nodded.

"Guilty as charged."

She smiled and started to reach towards him for a congratulatory hug, but then realized that she probably shouldn't, and pulled back. She gave him a solemn look and brought her hands out in front of her, wrists together, palms up.

"Do you need to cuff me?"

Nathan shook his head and laughed. "No, I don't need to cuff you. You just have to come down to the station with us so that you can answer a few questions…" He then cast a look up at Audrey and gave her a slight nod of his head. "…and so that we can talk someplace more, well, private."

At hearing that, Karen nodded in understanding and stood, following the three of them back to Nathan's truck.

Claire watched the two of them with interest, wondering how Nathan knew Karen and whether or not it would upset the balance of his and Audrey's tenuous relationship.

They arrived back at the station without incident and went into Nathan's office and locked the door.

Karen sat down across from Nathan and next to Audrey, who sat in the other chair opposite the desk, while Claire stood in the corner and carefully observed the girl's body language, while at the same time sneaking discreet glances out of the corner of her eye at the other two.

"Karen," Nathan started off, "Why are you back in Haven?"

She gave a vague shrug and let out a small sigh, not quite meeting anyone's eye, instead looking around the office.

"I just felt like it was time to come back, you know?"

Nathan then saw Audrey giving him her classic look. The one that said, _Are you getting to the point anytime soon?_,and he finally explained.

"Karen and I were friends in high school. Her dad was a local fisherman that regularly supplied the Grey Gull before it was, you know, the Grey Gull. When we were kids we liked to play down near her dad's dock," he looked pointedly at Karen, and she squirmed in her seat with what Claire could tell was embarrassment. "One day her dad was just getting in off of a job and a winch came loose and hit him hard enough to knock him out…but it didn't. Instead, myself and several crewmen fell unconscious. I didn't feel a thing, of course, but the other crewmen all ended up with partial concussions."

Audrey took a moment to figure it out, but when she did, her look was her usual one of surprise.

"Wait…you mean, that instead of him feeling the pain, anyone around him felt it instead?"

Nathan nodded, as did Karen.

And then Audrey added, pointing at Karen, "But you didn't, because you had the same trouble."

She nodded.

"Yeah…I thought it was gone now, you know? That things were finally back to normal. So, I decided to come back. It's, uh, my time of the month. Cramps."

The sheepish look appeared on her face yet again, but she quickly replaced it with a blank look and cast her eyes once more around the office, and then let her eyes rest once more on Nathan, her look becoming soft.

"I remember when we used to play in here…when it was your dad's office." She paused and then grinned. "Remember the time when he caught us with some of the files while you pretended to be a cop and I pretended to be a suspect and you were pretending to interrogate me?"

He smiled and let out a small laugh, something that was rare for him.

"Yeah, yeah…I remember. He was so mad I wasn't allowed back to the station for over a month."

She gave him a look, an eyebrow arched.

"_You _weren't allowed back? I believe he punished _both_ of us."

She was now smiling as well. Claire was happy to see that Nathan still had friends, but she could also tell that Audrey was still slightly uncomfortable by the easy banter between the two of them. Claire decided to quickly dispel Audrey's discomfort and asked, "So, you and Nathan were…uh, just friends?"

At that, Karen laughed out loud, and Claire was unsure of how to take it, until she said,

"I had my _own_ boyfriend, thank you very much. David Lynch, running back for the Haven Mud Dog football team. Nathan's like a brother to me. Always has been."

She flashed Audrey a slight smile, knowing exactly why Claire was asking her the question. Karen had seen the way that Audrey had reacted when Nathan had first put his arm around her shoulders.

Karen then stood and then noticed a flier on the back wall and let out another small laugh, this time one of incredulity.

"Fanchon's back?"

Nathan nodded. "Yeah. The ball's back on." He then gave her a sly grin. "You want to be my partner again?"

Audrey looked about ready to murder someone, but then Karen laughed and shook her head.

"Hell no, Wournos, our one time was enough! I felt like an idiot with _more_ than two left feet. Find yourself a new partner." Her eyes flickered briefly to the female agent, and then she walked towards the office door.

"Am I free to go now, Chief?" she said, a humorous glint to her tone.

He gave her a dismissive nod.

"Yeah. Just…you know…use painkillers?"

She nodded, and the three of them were alone again. Audrey lifted her hands from her lap and dropped them on the arms of her chair, letting out a long sigh. She cast her eyes towards Nathan, a smirk at the corner of her mouth.

"So…she has pain, and instead of _her_ feeling it, other people around her feel it?" He nodded. "What's her range?"

He shrugged.

"About forty, fifty feet. We were friends as kids, hung out together all the time, and it worked out pretty well."

Audrey nodded and he continued. "Whenever she got hurt by anything, the pain would go to me…" "And since you couldn't feel pain, you were pretty much immune," she finished for him.

He nodded.

Claire felt as though she were practically invisible…which, she thought to herself, smiling inside her mind, was a _very_ good thing. Seeing this, she slid behind Audrey's chair and slipped out of the office, closing the door behind her. Now it was time for the two of them.

* * *

**Part 4/?**


End file.
